If You Want It To Be
by reynabeth
Summary: Sometimes, there are things worth fighting for. And maybe, just maybe, Reyna's found hers.


Sometimes, there are things worth fighting for.

Reyna wished she had realised this sooner, before she had struggled through hours, _days_ , of pointless struggle. Her battles had been against no inferior enemy but the greatest of all: herself. After their final victory against Gaia, she had been almost floating in happiness - they had won, her suffering was over, she could live in peace now.

Her high had lasted approximately until they arrived back at Camp Jupiter. Plunged into work: repairing the camp, calming the demigods, training Frank for praetorship, and leading the city, she had next to no time for herself.

Not that that was necessarily a bad thing, of course.

When she mentioned this to Kinzie, the other girl had laughed. 'Don't be so _deep_ , Reyna!' Her green eyes had sparkled, and Reyna wanted to drown in their light. 'Come with us into New Rome,' Kinzie had suggested, but Reyna had declined. On a rare day off, she wanted to be on her own.

Now? Now she was kind of regretting that. Being alone with only herself and her nightmares for company was driving her insane.

She trudged into the front room of her house, turning on some music to drive out the heavy silence. The mindless noise drifted through the house, and so deep in her thoughts was Reyna, she almost didn't hear the knock on the door.

Desperate for company, she paused the music and sprung up from the couch, practically sprinting to get the door. Yanking the handle open, she nearly hit Frank in the face.

'Uh…hey, Reyna,' Frank shifted from foot to foot.

'Hi, Frank,' Reyna couldn't help but feel confused as to why her fellow praetor was at her house on their day off. 'What brings you here?'

'Um, Kinzie sent me.'

'Kinzie?'

'Yeah...she's - she thought you might want to reconsider…?'

Reyna shook her head in disbelief. 'She knows me too well,' she muttered. Although she and Kinzie had only been friends since the end of the Giant War, the friendship they'd struck up was strong. Reyna had even - once or twice - entertained the possibility that they could be… _more than friends_. Of course, she had immediately dismissed that ridiculous notion. There was no way that she and Kinzie could - you know - be a couple. No way.

Frank cleared his throat. 'Uh… Reyna?'

Reyna shook herself. 'Um, sorry. Yeah, I'll be out in a second. See you there.'

By the time Frank had hurried down the path towards the city, Reyna was in full-on freak out mode. Seeing Kinzie, the girl that she (maybe) liked...a bit...what was she supposed to wear? Reyna had never been one to care about her appearance, but her mind was going into overdrive, and she wasn't sure why.

In the end, she settled for her usual outfit of Camp Jupiter shirt and jeans. No sense in breaking from tradition, right? She brushed out her hair and rebraided it down her back, before staring at her reflection.

Her image gazed back at her, and Reyna briefly wondered if this was how she always looked: worry twisting her face, making her look much older and more serious; a nervous, apprehensive gleam in her eyes; a tiny smile playing around her lips, not wide enough to conceal her fear - if you could call it that.

Sighing, she shook herself free from her thoughts, and headed out of the door.

New Rome was beautiful this time of year. The trees glowed with orange, red and gold; a cool breeze wound through the streets, carrying a vague smell of woodsmoke; children chased each other around the town square - Reyna was proud to call this her home.

She found Kinzie, along with Hylla, multiple Amazons, Hazel, and Frank, who looked slightly awkward in the crowd of girls.

'Reyna!' Kinzie's face broke out in a grin. 'I knew you'd come!'

'Yeah, well…' Reyna attempted to cover the smile spreading over her face, and failed miserably.

'That's the spirit!' Kinzie cried, and grabbed Reyna by the hand, sending electric shocks up the praetor's arm. 'We're going for coffee,' Kinzie explained.

'Are you sure that's a good idea? You already seem a bit...hyperactive…'

'Good point.' Kinzie frowned. 'Maybe we should have a mass arm-wrestling contest instead.'

'Well,' began Reyna, 'I'm not saying that's a bad idea, but…'

'But that's exactly what you're saying, right?' The sight of Kinzie's smile caused butterflies to leap to life in Reyna's stomach.

'Yeah,' she agreed, trying to hide her blush.

'You might be right…' Kinzie wrinkled up her nose. 'Okay, so not coffee, and not arm-wrestling, sadly, so...how about we go back to your place for lunch?'

Reyna was instantly on guard. 'Uh...I don't think that's a -'

She was cut off by Kinzie yelling, 'Guys! The Praetor's kindly offered for us to go back to her house and get lunch there!'

'No, I don't think -' Too late. A stampede of cheering Amazons shoved past her on their way up the hill, followed by Kinzie, who grabbed Reyna's hand - again - and pulled her with them.

'See you later!' Reyna shouted back to Hazel and Frank, who were looking kinda shocked. Laughing, she let Kinzie and the Amazons pull her up the path towards her house.

An hour later, Reyna was not laughing. Amazons were eating her food, trashing her house, making too much noise and getting in the way.

Kinzie found her standing on the balcony, staring out at the city. Her city.

'Reyna…?' Kinzie asked tentatively.

Reyna turned. 'Oh, hey, Kinzie. What's up?'

Kinzie swallowed. For some reason, Reyna thought she looked nervous. 'Well,' began Kinzie, 'it's quite hectic here, so, I wondered if…' She trailed off.

' _If_ what?' Reyna asked curiously.

'If,' Kinzie continued, 'if you wanted to get coffee or something...just us…'

'Like a date?' Reyna could hear her heartbeat thrumming in her throat.

'If you want it to be.' Kinzie shrugged.

Reyna couldn't help herself. She took a few steps forward, closing the distance between them. Slowly, as if bound by a spell, Kinzie leaned in, tilting her face upwards, clearing the space. Their lips met. Kinzie tasted sweet, like marshmallows and hot chocolate, and her lips were soft, so soft.

They broke apart, grinning. 'So, it's official then?' gasped Reyna.

'If you want it to be.'

Reyna kissed her again.


End file.
